This invention relates to improvements in non structural wall panels and methods for assembling same into partition walls without the use of tools or the exercise of special skills by the deployment of a single artisan.
The art discloses many methods for erecting demountable partitions all of which require the use of tools and skills to a greater or lesser extent and are demanding of labour and time. In many cases the finished wall surface is marred by vertical battens necessary to conceal panel joints and in others individual panels can be readily removed to obtain unauthorised access between rooms.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for the economical manufacture of interlocking panels together with means for assembling a plurality of same into a flush faced demountable partition wall wherein said panels may be locked and made immovable until unlocked without the use of studding or other vertical members additional to the panels.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a demountable partition wall which can be erected over floor covering and which is completely recoverable for reassembly elsewhere without the use of fasteners or other loose components for locating and securing said interlocking panels when assembled into a demountable partition wall.
Accordingly, a preferred embodiment of this present invention provides for panels, each constructed from a lightweight core which may be a cellular composition to minimise handling weight whilst optimising thermal and accoustical attenuation, to the four edges of which precisely dimensioned perimeter members having a low coefficient of friction are bonded in course of manufacture. The perimeter members along the vertical sides of said panels are characterised by longitudinal overlapping interlocking surfaces which are so fashioned that adjacent members of abutting panels may be interlocked by a transverse movement to bring adjacent panels to a common centerline, the interlocking surfaces being so inclined to the normal as to develop a wedging effect which draws adjacent panels into close abuttment as they are centered.
The panels are assembled into a wall between a top runner and a bottom runner one of which is provided with a movable member biased to an outward position toward the other runner, both the said movable member and the other runner being contoured to mate with the horizontal perimeter members of the panels such that when a panel is offered into place between the outwardly biased movable member and the other runner it is gripped between same with sufficient force to center the panel and thereby bring same into register and close abutment to its neighbour.
The top and bottom runners are retained in position against the wall and ceiling by the action of the biasing force assisted by gravity without the use of mechanical fasteners.
It follows that such partition walls may be readily assembled and dismantled with the minimum of labour and without disturbing the building fabric or furnishings, and are capable of complete recovery for use elsewhere without the necessity of making good after removal.
The panel assembly may be locked into position by restraining the further movement of the biased movable member which may be readily done by means of a simple cam arrangement under the control of a keyed lock, or alternatively by mechanically, electrically, or otherwise actuated latches.
A preferred method for making the panels is by lining a cavity mould with the four perimeter members and two finished face laminates, the volume so defined being filled with a foaming polymer, expanded mineral, fibres, or other suitable low density or spacial material which becomes bonded to the perimeter members and face lamina in course of curing bonding material introduced for the purpose.